(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: POCSO & Exclusive Courts

Topic: POCSO & Exclusive Courts

Guest:

V. Rajyalakshmi, (Sociologist, Janki Devi Memorial College)
Rekha Agarwal, (Advocate, Supreme Court)
Alka Singh, (Head, Policy & Advocacy, Save The Children Foundation)

Topic Description:

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to set up a dedicated special court in every district which has over 100 cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) pending. The apex court gave this mandate with a deadline of 60 days, as it was concerned about the slow pace at which child sexual abuse cases are being dealt with. A bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Aniruddha Bose made these statements when they learnt that 1.5 lakh POCSO cases were pending in 670 designated courts. Quoting available data, the court pointed out that only 3% victims in POCSO cases received compensation in 2015, and the number increased to only 4% and 5% in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Per this data, a judge on an average has to go decide on 224 cases. To address this, the apex court asked for the Centre to set up special courts, which should be funded by the Centre as well.